EMS World Podcasts

A new video series titled “One for the Road” will soon begin rolling out on EMS World’s website. Sponsored by Hartwell, these short educational videos will take on a wide range of topics in the prehospital ecosystem and provide simple, practical tips you can take with you on your next shift. Firefighter-paramedic Steve Whitehead hosts the videos and discusses the new series and what it will accomp...

"It's not rock bottom, but we're on the ropes," warns Dan Gerard, MS, RN, NRP, president of the International Association of EMS Chiefs, about the current struggles plaguing the EMS industry. The COVID-19 pandemic "took the brakes off," Gerard says, and the next 2–5 years will be essential to determining our future. Hear more about this critical topic as Gerard speaks with host Mike McCabe in our...

Emotional well-being and the damaging effects of cumulative mental stressors on first responders are coming into focus now more than ever, given recent events. CDC data shows that a first responder dies by suicide every four days in the United States. “We are literally killing ourselves,” says James Boomhower, a critical care transport paramedic, peer support coordinator and fierce advocate for th...

What does the future of FirstNet hold? Imagine intriguing advances like high-powered extended-range equipment and the integration of LTE and LMR. FirstNet's Tommy Smith and the FirstNet Authority's Gary McCarraher talk about some of what's coming in Part 2 of their podcast series with host Mike McCabe. Find the first part here .  Follow EMS World (EMSWorldOFCL) on Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Instagram...

What is community risk reduction, how can EMS providers become involved in it, and what should they understand about education to do so? These are big questions, but the answers can lead us toward safer and healthier communities. In our latest EMS World original podcast, host Mike McCabe explores with Columbia Southern University's Aaron Rhone, PhD, MPA. Sponsored by CSU.  Follow EMS World (EMSWor...

Responders who have answered large-scale acts of violence may be familiar with Lenco's BearCat tactical armored vehicle for military and law enforcement operations. For a more medical slant on such situations, the company also offers the the BearCat Medevac, also known as the MedCat, to meet the combined requirements of SWAT and tactical EMS teams. In this new podcast host Mike McCabe gets a prime...

Deadly fires helped lead to fire codes. Drug tampering led to sealed bottles. What new safeguards will the long tail of COVID-19 bring? One possible answer is increased attention to cleaning and disinfecting EMS work environments, such as the backs of ambulances. In this new podcast host Mike McCabe and guest Sean Fay, national emergency response director at Halosil International, explore keeping...

American emergency services are now closer than ever to full communications interoperability thanks to FirstNet, the nationwide broadband wireless network conceived a decade ago and operational since 2017. In this new podcast host Mike McCabe speaks with FirstNet's Tommy Smith and the FirstNet Authority's Gary McCarraher about the network and its growing range of capabilities.  Follow EMS World (E...

It's been more than 15 years since General Devices' initial demonstration of streaming live video from the back of an ambulance to EMS physicians at the Gathering of Eagles conference. Telehealth and telemedicine have come a long way since, yet still pose enormous untapped potential. In this latest podcast host Mike McCabe talks to GD's Curt Bashford about the past, present, and future of this car...

With EMS facing personnel shortages, units going out of service, and climbing response times, the ability of our law enforcement partners to absorb key segments of the medical mission is more important than ever. How can EMS and their PDs work together and help each other most optimally? Building on February's cover report, "Making the Most of Police Partners," host Mike McCabe and emergency physi...

Interoperability: Everyone says they want it, yet true interconnectedness among agencies and providers remains elusive. What's really preventing it? In this third podcast in a series sponsored by Verizon, host Mike McCabe speaks with Tony Dolezal, ENP, who leads the company's National Public Safety Strategy and Business Development Group, about the challenges of getting full interoperable capabili...

Bystanders often play a key role in successful outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and among our jobs is raising their awareness and reducing their fear so they can act when needed. In this special EMS World original podcast, cardiac arrest survivor Mike Papale, community relations manager for Defibtech, discusses progress, challenges, and measures we can take to educate and empower lay r...

The January 9 high-rise fire at the Twin Parks North West Site 4 apartment complex in the Bronx killed 17 people, including eight children, and produced 32 critical patients among the 64 hurt. FDNY Deputy Chief Farooq Muhammad was among the first emergency personnel on scene and commanded the response's medical branch.  In the latest EMS World original podcast, Muhammad reviews the harrowing exper...

As a former Air Force special operations pararescueman who completed a fellowship as an EMS physician and is about to embark on a second board certification in critical care medicine, Michael Lauria cannot be branded an underachiever. Yet attending college and leaving his Connecticut hometown was never in his plans. To hear him tell it, “Life leads you in very interesting ways.” Lauria sits down w...

Concerts and mass gatherings are reemerging, but in light of recent tragedies, the planning process for these events has evolved. In this episode Andrew Caruso, president of 503 Safety Consultants and safety officer for the New Jersey EMS Task Force, speaks with EMS World Podcasts host Mike McCabe about how event medicine has changed and how a more comprehensive and integrative planning process is...

Safety in EMS encompasses threats both familiar (needlesticks, lifting injuries) and new (COVID, increasing assaults). Together they're making things really dangerous out there. In the final episode of our "Live From the Expo Floor" podcast series from EMS World Expo 2021, host Mike McCabe talks with Nick Adams, operations chief and head of health and safety for Georgia's Cobb County Fire and Emer...

It's easy to take your wireless communications for granted. But when disaster strikes, your comms may fail when you need them most. In the second part of this special two-part podcast, host Mike McCabe speaks with Curtis Mentz, head of the Verizon Response Team, about how his group has helped sustain health and safety operations over the past two challenging years.  Find Part 1 here . Sponsored by...

It's easy to take your wireless communications for granted. But when disaster strikes, your comms may fail when you need them most. In Part 1 of this special two-part podcast, host Mike McCabe speaks with Curtis Mentz, head of the Verizon Response Team, about his squad's capabilities and company's commitment to sustaining mission-critical communications in times of trouble.  Find Part 2 here . Spo...

EMS salaries: We all know they're too low. Why is that, and, more important, how can we improve them? In the 11th episode of our "Live From the Expo Floor" podcast series from EMS World Expo 2021, host Mike McCabe talks with Brian LaCroix, FACEP, NRP (ret.), cofounder and CEO of Cambridge Consulting Group and former chief at Allina Health EMS in Minnesota, about living wages in EMS and how to get...

Virtual learning has taken over our lives—and not all of it's good. If it's here to stay, how can we improve it? In the 10th episode of our "Live From the Expo Floor" podcast series from EMS World Expo 2021, host Mike McCabe talks with veteran EMS educator Bob Matoba about the challenges of educating EMTs and paramedics today.  Follow EMS World (EMSWorldOFCL) on  Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Instagram ,...

Tradition has always been important in the emergency services, but sustaining EMS into the future requires progression away from models of the past. In the ninth installment of our "Live From the Expo Floor" podcast series from EMS World Expo 2021, host Mike McCabe talks with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Division Chief Charles Coyle about some of the new directions EMS has to embrace.  Follow EMS...

What is critical care transport? It depends on whom you ask. In the eighth installment of our "Live From the Expo Floor" podcast series from EMS World Expo 2021, host Mike McCabe talks with critical care expert Kevin Collopy, clinical outcomes and compliance manager for New Hanover Regional Medical Center's AirLink/VitaLink program, about the need for standardization and defining the capabilities...

With a combination of EMS therapies that includes active compression-decompression CPR, use of an impedance threshold device, and controlled sequential elevation of the head and thorax, we may finally stand poised for a breakthrough in cardiac arrest survival outcomes. In the seventh installment of our "Live From the Expo Floor" podcast series from EMS World Expo 2021, host Mike McCabe talks with...

It's a concept with a long military history that's been forgotten in modern prehospital care: whole blood for trauma patients at the point of injury--and for EMS that means the field. In this sixth installment of our "Live From the Expo Floor" podcast series from EMS World Expo in Atlanta, host Mike McCabe talks with C.J. Winckler, MD, LP, deputy medical director for the San Antonio Fire Departmen...

Why is the practice of simulation in healthcare education so clumsy? Perhaps too much focus on the manikins and simulators rather than the complete student experience. In this fifth installment of our "Live From the Expo Floor" series from EMS World Expo in Atlanta, host Mike McCabe talks with healthcare simulation expert Jennifer McCarthy, MAS, NRP, CHSE-A, about how to make it more effective.  F...